Following a summer of high hopes for several NBA team, an extended courtship of the top NBA free agents, and the emergence of a conspiracy, Cleveland was publicly spurned by their own native son, James, who had been embraced by the city with the moniker, "The Chosen One".
After numerous delays, Lebron announced his choice to join with fellow All Stars and Team USA teammates, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, on the Miami Heat, during an ill-conceived 1-hour special on ESPN called "The Decision". The show's name soon became synonymous with the latest betrayal born by the city of Cleveland.
Following "The Decision", there has been harsh backlash against James'. Prior to the infamous decision, James was a much admired sports figure, not only in Cleveland, but Lebron was respected globally to fans of the sport. However, perception of Lebron James has drastically shifted, and Mike Polk's tribute song is the latest emphatic statement of this.
The perception of Lebron James leaving his city, although not the course of champions of the echelon of Jordan, Bird, and Kobe, would not have been a career-killer if James had gone about it with more public-relations savvy. Shaquille O'Neal moved during his prime, much like Lebron James, from an NBA Finals team in the Orlando Magic to the Los Angeles Lakers, however O'Neal was the main attraction on the Lakers, who won the NBA Championship with O'Neal because of the eventual development of Kobe Bryant.
However, with Lebron stringing along several NBA franchises, announcing his departure in such a self-aggrandizing and self-promotional forum, and leaving Cleveland to join two other established players, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, on a team that Wade has already won a championship with in Miami, many former Lebron fans feel deceived. There was nothing admirable or heroic about Lebron's actions from "The Decision" onward. By subjugating himself to Wade, he has made the admission that he cannot lead a team to victory, and he has revealed the fraud in the advertisements that taut his supremacy.
Sports super-stardom is driven by image and perception, and Lebron has managed to tarnish his well-polished image with quite possibly the worst PR summer of any great athlete in recent memory. A viral video would not help things for James, however the outrage is real and stands to grow with each game Lebron plays with Wade's team.
Postings like this one all over social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have fueled the popularity of Mike Polk's YouTube performance. The following update was posted to the Facebook group, Lebron is a LeBiatch:
This is my new favorite song! Thank you, Mike Polk! Lebron is a LeBiatch.Within a matter of 2 hours, the hit count on the YouTube video rose by nearly 3500 views, and with the viral nature of social media, Lebron James could possibly be the first NBA star to become globally infamous because of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Nike and other brands don't bank on athletes with the image of being a Bitch.
